A group of concerned citizens met last month to discuss the future of Elizabeth Furnace in Pinecroft.
\nElizabeth Furnace is located along Sandy Run, off the Little Juniata River in Pinecroft, Antis Township.
\nBuilt in 1832, it was owned at one time by Martin and Edward Bell.
\nIn 1836 Elizabeth Furnace utilized its gases for steam, and it is thought to be the first blast furnace in Pennsylvania to do so. The furnace stood between 30 and 34 feet high. Previous researchers found the furnace to be in excellent condition in the 1960s, however by 2003, it was found to be only in fair condition.
\nAs the furnace continues to deteriorate, several local residents began to consider the possibility of restoring the historical landmark. There are also rocks and brush that need to be cleared from around the furnace. Last month\u2019s meeting, held at the Pinecroft Fire Hall was informational. According to James Otto, there seems to be some interest in the project.
\nAlong with Otto, Mary Brunner, was also in attendance to share her knowledge as she spoke on the history of the furnace.
\nOtto said, \u201cPeople have been very willing to go along with the plans.\u201d
\nHe said the current owner of the property, where Elizabeth Furnace sits, agreed to donate the property in order for it to be restored.
\nAntis Supervisors said they would like to try to keep the project local.
\n\u201cMy thing is, I want it restored,\u201d said Otto.
\nHe explained for more than 50 years the furnace was a vital part of the community. The iron from Elizabeth Furnace would be taken to Mary Ann Forge. Overall, the furnace supported about 1000 members in the community.
\n\u201cI think the more interest we get, the better,\u201d said Otto.
\n\u201cI would like to see an area where people could stop their cars and take a look around.\u201d
\n He explained it wouldn\u2019t even have to be a park, just a place that was available to the community.
\nOtto is very interested in the historical significance Elizabeth Furnace has had in the area. He said he is determined to see the project get underway and hopes the other members of the community feel the same. Still in the beginning stages, the project could possibly see an alliance with Penn State if the school showed interest.
\nOtto said he will continue to work towards getting the project going. Meetings will be held for interested citizens as the planning continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A group of concerned citizens met last month to discuss the future of Elizabeth Furnace in Pinecroft. Elizabeth Furnace is located along Sandy Run, off the Little Juniata River in Pinecroft, Antis Township. Built in 1832, it was owned at one time by Martin and Edward Bell. In 1836 Elizabeth Furnace utilized its gases for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42860\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}